Taking Over Me
by LadyCharliEM
Summary: Post 3x15. Caroline is miserable, mourning her father and fed up with people using her. What if someone made all that go away? Will people continue to use her and cause her pain or will she find an unlikely hero? Can Klaus really have a second chance?
1. Prologue

Taking Over Me.

Prologue.

X

Bonnie gasped, effectively jolting herself out of the spell she had cast. She fell backwards but was quick enough to use her hands to stop from falling onto the candles placed in a circle around her. She could feel the panic and weight of what she had just seen begin to push down on her already.

"Did it work?" Stefan asked before Bonnie even had time to catch her breath. She frowned, she was doing a big favour for him the least he could do was wait for her to get her breath back before hounding her with questions. She hated doing these kinds of spells, they always revealed something dark and often caused more trouble than good. She didn't want to be the reason for another person getting hurt, or worse.

"I'm not sure what happened." Her forehead crinkled up. "I saw a woman, it must have been another witch, I could sense it. She was late 20's, red hair, tall. She was with Caroline." This confused her.

"Caroline?" It was Damon's turn to speak up, from the other side of the Salvatore's living room, leaning against the nearest door frame.

"Yeah, she was in trouble. The witch had hold of her and was doing some pretty strong magic. I didn't recognise anything she was doing." Bonnie reached into her pocket to retrieve her phone as she continued to describe what she had seen. "It was on the side of the main road by the woods but Caroline's car was the only one I could see." She pressed call on her mobile and held it up to her ear. Damon was quickly dismissing himself, off to search for Caroline she presumed. "Voicemail." Bonnie gave a quick groan of frustration. "Stefan, where's Elena? Didn't she say she was going round Caroline's tonight?" Maybe they were in luck, maybe they could stop this woman, whoever she was.

"She called me earlier. Her car wouldn't start so Caroline was going to go round hers instead." Stefan calmly stated, realisation dawning over him as he spoke. "A little bit convenient, isn't it?"

"We have to get to her and soon. This was so strong that it must be tonight I'm seeing." Bonnie was blowing out candles as Stefan rushed out of the room. She stopped before she reached the last one, wondering why this was the image she was shown when asking for a way to kill Klaus. Hoping that this could be a twisted but good message.

X

Klaus was angry. Angry at his mother for her betrayal. Angry at the news that there was yet another way for someone to kill him. Angry at Caroline for lying to him but mostly angry with himself for believing her. He must have looked like a love struck puppy, following her out of The Grill and asking her all these silly questions about her. He was crushed when he figured out what was really going on. He didn't fancy her anymore, this went a lot deeper than some crush. All he could think about were her sparkling blue eyes and glowing smile. She was the perfect light to save him for the darkness he had succumbed to over the years, or at least that's what he secretly hoped. But she was too good and he was beyond redeeming.

As he tore out the last few pages of the last sketch book and threw them into the fire, he wished his feelings that seemed to burn with the same intensity would turn to ash and smoke like the paper did.

"Niklaus, now is not the time for wallowing. We need to make a plan." Rebekah spoke from a nearby chair, a glass of alcohol gripped firmly in her hand, half empty after watching her brother.

"Why? If they knew what was written right in front of them, don't you think they would have used it by now? We are in no less of a disadvantage then we were ten minutes ago because they are oblivious." Klaus replied.

"This is not like you. You always have a plan, you would never rely on ignorance to keep yourself alive." Rebekah placed her glass on the table next to her and leaned forward, trying to catch his gaze.

"Actually I've found ignorance is very useful." He sighed and placed the now empty book back on the desk and walked over to the chair opposite hers. "If we start digging for information on this new oak then people will notice. They'll start wondering what we're looking for and try to find answers as well, and soon they'll discover the questions we'll be asking. If we simply ignore this then it will remain ignored." He stretched back into the chair and rested his feet in front of him, relaxed, almost as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Rebekah growled and stood up suddenly. She sped over and leaned as close to his face as she dared. He didn't flinch. "I don't what that little blonde thing said or did to you, but you are too old, no. You are too powerful to let some baby vampire cloud your judgment. She might be nice and pretty but just fuck someone and get over it."

He didn't move, he just stared into her eyes as she had her moan and walked out of the room. Maybe she was right. Why was Caroline getting to him? He'd fancied girls before and did just as his sister had suggested and suddenly he no longer cared about them. So why was she so different?

Klaus liked being a hero for her. It was brief but he had seen it in her eyes the night he saved her life. The way she looked at him and believed him when he told her of all the beauty in the world that she deserved to see. The way she felt curled up to his chest as she drank his life to save her own. At first he had just gone over there to just win over Liz Forbes but when he had seen Caroline tucked up in her bed, looking so scared and alone he liked that it was him who was there for her.

He wasn't a hero though. He wasn't even a vaguely nice person so that one touching night that affected him more than he intended was a mistake and he was a fool for thinking she would see him the way he wanted her to. He had tried afterwards, with the bracelet, the dress, the dancing and the art but why would courting and trying to charm her work after all he's done? Yet he still didn't want to give up on her without having at least told her how he truly felt. Without having felt her lips on his just once…

A loud commotion downstairs quickly distracted Klaus from his current line of thought. Doors opened and slammed shut almost immediately, there was a few shouts and some more doors slamming. Klaus sighed. Even in this huge mansion he couldn't get 5 minutes of quiet.

"Nik!" Rebekah was calling him and it sounded urgent. He rushed down just in case it was one of the Salvatore's trying to be "brave and bold" or "impulsive" but soon came face to face with Rebekah looking confused, a woman he had never seen before standing next to an unconscious Caroline who was lying on a sofa.

"Before you do anything rash, I think we should all introduce ourselves first." The mystery woman spoke, holding her arms up and out, as if that could stop him... Klaus paused. His initial reaction was to hurt this woman but he stopped himself. Giving her a quick glare and began to study her. She was around 31 or 32 years old but Klaus wasn't certain. She was tall and skinny, Klaus wondered how she could have possibly carried Caroline in here on her own. Her skin was pale and she had light red hair that went past her shoulders in waves. Klaus' frown deepened. Everything about her practically screamed witch. "I'm Sue Carson and I am here to deliver a message." A sly smirk graced her face as she ran her hand over Caroline's hair.

That was it. Klaus could only feel rage as his eyes became darker and teeth began to grow.

X

Thank you.

I know this is a very short chapter, but it's just the start. I've finished the next and it's more than triple the length of this one. I'm new to the world of Klaroline so please bear with me and I am a terrible speller so please point out any and all mistakes you find. That being said, if anyone wants to Beta me then please contact me as I would love all the help I can get!

And like all writers, I love reviews so if you could take a few moments to tell me what you think, and any ideas then please please please review.

Charlie


	2. Chapter One

Taking Over Me.

Chapter One

X

Caroline was miserable. She really hated her life and how people were acting around and treating her. In the past few weeks she had nearly been killed by her own boyfriend, saved by the enemy, left alone by her boyfriend, been forced to interact and make nice with the enemy who made her boyfriend leave and most painfully, she had lost her father because he chose to not to be like the monster she was.

Today she had enough strength to call Steven and it was like reopening a wound that hadn't even begun to heal. It was one of the most difficult and upsetting things she had even done and that's why she called Elena so she could help her cope, they had both lost their fathers and Caroline really needed someone right now. She didn't want to call Bonnie as she had her own heartache at the moment so Elena offered to come over. But as luck would have it her car died before she even left her drive so that's why Caroline was driving down the empty main road at 11 o'clock at night. A handbag full of DVD's and a tub of ice cream melting on her passenger seat. She wanted to just forget, she needed a girly night and it's been too long since she felt normal.

She was carful as she made a sharp turn where the road bends around the woods and jumped when she noticed a heartbeat nearby. It was fast, like a person was panicking or running, maybe both. Slowing the car down to a crawl she opened her window and tried to listen out for the stranger. It spelt bad news that someone was running in a forest like this in the middle of the night. Caroline looked up at the moon and noted that it was shaped like a giant C in the sky. That eliminated one thing.

She weighted up her optioned in her mind and sighed as she stopped the car fully and turned off the engine. This could end badly but she couldn't just let someone who was obviously in trouble alone. Shoving her hand into her handbag and grabbing her phone just in case, she opened the door and got out.

The heartbeats were getting closer and faster. She could hear panting and the odd yelp and scream for help as the person, who Caroline had discovered was a woman, got closer to the road. She only hoped the woman made it out into the road safely, she really didn't want to go into the woods on her own. Luckily, Caroline saw some bushes and low hanging branches begin to move and the scared red haired woman fell onto the side of the road.

Caroline zipped over with unnoticed vampire speed and helped the woman get up. "Oh my God. Are you okay? What happened?"

The woman grabbed onto her like a lifeline as she struggled to get back on her feet. "A man-" She couldn't speak, she could hardly breathe but Caroline could tell she needed to warn her. "A monster!"

"Okay. You're safe. You're safe now." Caroline spun around looking at any signs of danger but saw none. She cast her senses out but picked up nothing. 'Not good, not good' she kept thinking over and over. "My car is right over there." She said, trying to hurry the woman.

"Oh God." The woman was weeping. "Oh God." Caroline had her walking now and they were taking small yet frantic steps towards her car. They soon reached it and Caroline opened the passenger door with one hand and holding the hysterical lady around her waist with the other. She picked up the tube of ice cream and threw it in the back seats then chucked her handbag onto the driver's side. The woman had stopped crying now and Caroline turned to help her into the car when she noticed a very sudden change in the atmosphere.

"I can feel it! It's here." The woman whisper, grabbing Caroline by both her arms. She wanted to look around to find whatever this stranger was scared of but there was something in her face that made it impossible to look away. The red headed woman's eyes began to dull, a wild pair of misty scared grey eye suddenly flashed and were replaced with brilliant green. Her open mouth contorted into a smirk and her posture pushed forward then back, straightening up, giving Caroline an eerie sense of familiarity. It was like watching a bird of prey and Caroline knew she had been tricked. Good job she was a vampire, she thought to herself, hoping to give this woman a big scare of her own.

"You don't know who you're messing with." Caroline warned. Her fangs descended and she felt the slight tickle brush under her eyes, the tell-tale sign that veins where now present under her blood red eyes.

"Actually, I was planning on it." There was a sharp pain instantly in Caroline's head and she fell to the ground grunting as her knees banged hard against the road. The strange woman started chanting and Caroline felt a pressure on her head, the pain was replaced with the increasing pressure. The woman was resting her hand on top of her hair and it took all her might to not scream out as it felt like her head was being crushed.

Her life was flashing before her eyes and if she hadn't already died then she imagined this is what it felt like. Images of her mother and father together when she was younger, the first time she kissed Matt, Elena and Bonnie laughing at a sleep over because Elena scratched her nose with wet nails and had caused a huge pink smudge, Tyler and her having sex for the first time in a drunken haze, then Klaus. Klaus telling her how he had thought about ending it but not because there was so much beauty out there. The feeling of his wrist in her mouth and the gorgeous taste of his blood in her mouth. His soft words wishing her Happy Birthday. She tried to hold onto any of these thoughts to distract her from the pain. She keep focusing on the memory of Klaus holding her tightly as she drank his thousand year old blood and that wonderful feeling as the pressure became too much to handle and she screamed.

She blacked out soon after.

X

"What is there stopping me from killing you right now?" Klaus asked, his hand firmly placed around Sue's neck. "I admit, I am curious how you know who I am or even where to find me, but I can always find out after I've ripped your precious throat out." Sue tried to speak but couldn't.

"Nik, just let her speak, you've made your point." Rebekah said.

He sighed and released the stranger. She gasped for oxygen and reached up to protect her throat but still stood her ground, not moving an inch away from Caroline. After a few seconds and a nasty glare from Klaus, she began to speak.

"I had a vision. In it I found her on the side of the road and brought her here. Then I saw you two together, you save people, you're by a burning tree. I don't recognise any of the places but I'm not local. This had to happen so the supernatural side will stay balanced. But Klaus, you need to protect her, there are people out there who want to hurt you both and she will be a target now." The woman spoke calmly yet with a passion that he understood. He never messed with witches. They always had the greater good in mind and he knew what happened when you messed with that.

"Are you certain? I find it difficult to believe but Caroline, she won't accept this for a moment. How can I protect her when she won't tolerate me in her presence long enough to explain?" He heard Rebekah scoff at his question.

"You don't seriously believe her?" She pointed accusingly at the witch.

"I do. Witches, as annoyingly moral as they are, would only skip their pride and reveal themselves to someone like me if they knew it had to be." Klaus nodded towards Sue.

"I can't tell you how you accomplish these things, I didn't see enough to get those sorts of answers. But I have helped you when it comes to your past…" She paused, trying to find the right word. "Indiscretions." Sue picked up something from the floor and walked over to Rebekah. "Here, you'll need this." She handed over a handbag, Rebekah accepted it with a glare. Sue then turned to Klaus. "This is a sensitive situation, which means you need to be sensitive when dealing with it. It'll take time and patience but at the end of it all, it's you who will reap the most benefits."

The red headed witch began to head to the door which she entered but Klaus quickly blocked her path. "How do I know this isn't some kind of trick? Set up by the Salvatore's or my mother?" It was a weak question but he had to ask it.

"Does this look like a trick? What would the premise even be?" He had to agree with her there. The Salvatore's are stupid and bold but they at least try to think things through, there is no logic to any of this. They also would never in a million years leave one of their own alone and defenceless in his home, if there was one thing that bunch of vampires, humans, witches and doppelgänger have proven, it's that they care about each other so much they would never willingly risk each other's lives to this extent. His mother had only been back from the dead a week and only disappeared last night. There was no time to organise this kind of scheme with another witch, even with Finn by her side. "And even if it was," The witch continued, changing her tactics and now turning around and walking away from the door, back to the unconscious Caroline who was still on the sofa. "What do you honesty have to lose with her?"

Klaus felt his face soften but quickly schooled his features back into stone. He didn't like this witch being so close to Caroline. "If you've said everything you need to say then I suggest you get out."

She moved quickly. Klaus didn't look in her direction as she soundlessly exited the mansion. Rebekah, who had been surprisingly mute during this exchange, pushed away from the table she was leaning against and walked over to Caroline. "What do you think she did to her?"

"Probably just a bit of vervain. She should be awake any moment."

"Whatever, this is all too fishy for my liking. Mother must be behind it." She said, her tone bored but the suspicion in her eyes proved she was interested.

"What did she give you?" Klaus asked, choosing to ignore Rebekah's last sentence. He started walking towards her yet keeping his distance, he didn't want to look too concerned about the sleeping beauty in front of him.

"Her handbag. Nothing special, purse, make-up except there were some DVD's."

"That means she was meeting someone, probably Elena. They'll be missing her by now." He glanced down at Caroline. Her skin was so pale and she wasn't breathing. Subconsciously vampires breathe, it's too basic an instinct to give up, like blinking or swallowing. Habits that help them camouflage as normal humans, even when sleeping. But she was truly sedated. Anyone would have thought she was dead if they came across her like this, except her skin was warm. Klaus scolded himself for touching her. A stray lock of hair was splayed over her forehead and he tucked it behind her ear, now Rebekah had seen and he had all but admitted his feelings for her. But she looked so beautiful not to touch and the opportunity was too perfect, like lovers, he felt connected to her by his affectionate action.

"Well I'm going to create myself an alibi and go to The Grill. Not that this is any of my problem but I suggest you hide her until she wakes up, you don't want just anyone busting through the front doors and finding her here like this." Dumping Caroline's handbag on the table, she quickly whizzed out the house.

"Have fun with Matt, little sis." He said, mainly to himself. Tilting his had to one side, he looked at her face. "Now, what shall we do with you, love?" Hooking one arm under her shoulders and the other behind her knees, he lifted her up easily and slowly walked up the main stairs towards his bedroom. "We don't want you waking up on a sofa with a crick in your neck." He explained to her, trying to justify his selfish reasons for wanting to see her in his bed.

He managed to kick opened the door with one foot and placed her delicately on his bed, a rather silly thing considering her vampire strength and not being awake to notice, but he felt the need to make her as comfortable as possible. He covered her with his dark sheets and was struck with the similarity of this position. Him sitting on a bed with her tucked up in it. He could still remember the feeling of her teeth in his wrist, biting and sucking his blood… He ran a hand through his hair and tried to shake himself out of it. Now was not the time for the animalistic lust that came with that memory. Instead he began to stroke Caroline's hair, smoothing it out and tidying her messy curls.

"How does trouble always find you?" He continued to smooth her hair, a rather relaxing pastime he found, as his mind began to wonder over everything that had happened in the past hour. He held her hand with his free one, rubbing his thumb over her soft skin.

He and Caroline would be together. The witch, Sue he reminded himself, didn't explain what way they would be together, he hoped it meant that they were lovers but witches are often vague or twist words so he wasn't about to take her words head on. She could have merely meant they were both in the same area when he supposedly saved people and burned a tree. The tree. That little detail made him certain the witch was being truthful. Having only recently discovered the existence of a second tree himself, he knew there were only two people who knew about that tree and the witch clearly didn't. She was obviously just repeating what she had seen and had no clue of the significance that burning the tree meant. It meant life. Could he let himself believe that this meant a life where he and Caroline could be together?

No. He was too smart to be seduced by the witches' words. He smiled at that thought. There were big gaps that needed filling and he hoped when Caroline woke up, she could help.

A groan snapped his gaze away from her small hand in his. Klaus looked up, her wide blue eyes looking back at his.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words formed. It was getting harder for him to control his breathing. Her gaze continued to bore into his and he couldn't look away. Her forehead crinkled up and she gave a dry swallow. Her eyes soon flickered away from his, looking around the room they were in, searching for something.

"Where am I?" She asked her voice quiet and almost cracking.

"Don't worry, love. You're in my room. I brought you up here-" His tone was gentle and his volume was low, but he knew she could hear him.

"Here? You're…" She trailed off. Trying to put pieces of her memory back together he assumed. Soon she'll figure out she was drugged, knocked out and brought here.

"What do you last remember?" Without realising, he leaned in closer to her.

"I…" She looked around one more time. "I was with you." One of Klaus' eyebrows shot up out of curiosity. That wasn't right. Caroline looked down at their linked hands. She loosened her grip from his but never lost contact with his skin. She slowly moved her finger tips up his wrist and forearm then back down again. Klaus' gazed darkened at her gentle yet intimate touch. She slowly lifted his arm closer to her face, closer to her mouth. Klaus was holding his breath, he knew his was staring so intensely that it must burn. Caroline suddenly looked away from his arm to his face. "You saved my life."

"Anything," he swallowed. "Anything after that?" Her eyes were so wide and innocent and the room was filled with lust and passion it took all his will power not to grab her and kiss her. She shook her head. "Alright then." He started to mull over the events in Caroline's life that had happened after that night. He considered that this might have been a defence mechanism, he has never heard of a vampire getting retrograde amnesia, but she has had a bad few weeks, maybe subconsciously she was suppressing her memories, after all, who would want to remember losing a loved one like a parent if they could help it?

"Thank you." Her grip on his forearm was firm and she used his strength to help her sit up. She held her head for a moment, as if she was dizzy but seemed to recover. "Thank you for my birthday gift." She suddenly began to lean forward and Klaus was finding it hard to breathe again. Her head tilted and slowly her lips started to meet his. He felt her warmth and softness for less than a second before pulling away.

"Wait. This isn't you. You remember who I am, right? What I've done to you?" He should have just kissed her back because he would never have another opportunity but she obviously wasn't in the right frame of mind and he didn't want to suffer her wrath when she came to her senses about what she just did.

Her brow crinkled and her eyes flickered around the room, as if the walls held the answers. Klaus frowned, this was not good. "You saved my life." She said firmly, sure of her answer.

"Before that, love." He wanted to smile at her innocence and the way she kept repeating how he saved her but he couldn't. He had already fitted the pieces of this puzzle together but had to approach it delicately.

Tears began to form in her eyes and her lip started to tremble. She had let go of him now and was started to get out of the bed, away from him. "No."

Klaus reached for her but she sped out of the bed into the far corner of his room, falling to the wooden floor almost immediately. "Anything at all? Family, friends?"

Her eyes continued to search the room but he didn't know what for. Her hand went to her head as she tried to think, only to whimper and drop her arm. "I don't remember anything."

"But you remembered me, earlier, that was a memory." He motioned towards where she had lain in his bed just moments ago. "I did save your life. Who am I? What's my name?" He got up slowly from the edge of the bed and walked towards her, not wanting to scare her away, she was acting like a frightened caged animal so he was going to treat her like one, with great caution.

"I don't know." She shouted at him, tears streaming down her face. She was getting angry.

"Okay, love, let's try an easy one." He inched over to her and with a foot or two between them, he crouched down so they were at the same height. She nodded her head, trying to control her sobs. "Who are you? What's your name?"

"I don't know." She whispered. She couldn't remain calm anymore, her breathing was erratic and she let out sob after sob. "I don't know!" Caroline move forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck for support. The shock wore off quickly and he placed an arm around her back.

"It's okay, I'm here, Caroline. You'll be okay." He repeated, stroking her hair again until she calmed down and quickly drifted off to sleep in his arms. Picking her up and tucking her into the bed for a second time that night. He began to form a plan in his mind, he tried to think of how he could help her by himself but he couldn't think of anything and was beginning to feel guilty that if he did this on his own he would be letting Caroline down when she needed him the most. He looked down at his unmarked wrist and then back at her sleeping body, so tiny, pale and fragile in comparison to his black sheets.

He knew what he had to do.

X

Thank you.

Finally, the first full chapter! I would like to thank Bookfreak25 (My first reviewer!), Betseyjill, Carolannw5, DGfleetfox (I love how Klaus sees Caroline. He really does know how strong and smart she is), priyapur, Sana N, Funiasty, Catherina1996 and loonynerdxd9. All your lovely comments and reviews inspired me so much that I wrote the next 2 chapters a lot quicker than I could have dreamed! I hope you all enjoy this new chapter because I am deicating it to all of you.

Special shout out to Original Hybrid, you have read my mind and this chapter is the proof! But although you are close with that one thing, you are not 100% correct but you'll just have to wait and see!

Enjoy and please take a moment to review, tell me your thoughts and point out any mistakes I have made (I'm sure there are a few!).

Charlie


	3. Chapter Two

Taking Over Me.

Chapter Two

X

"Elena, is Caroline with you?" The voice asked frantically over the phone. Elena could feel her heart beating faster already with worry.

"No, Bonnie, she should be here any minute. What's going on?"

"I've tired ringing her, I had a premonition. She was being hurt by a witch. We need to find her!" Bonnie was talking loudly but Elena could hear noise in the background.

"Where are you? I'll call Alaric and get him to drive the route that she would have driven."

"Damon's already doing that and Stefan just called me. He can't get through to Alaric. I'm at The Mystic Grill. Nobody's seen Caroline today, not even Matt." Elena frowned, some things weren't adding up. Matt said he wasn't working tonight because of his injured hand and Alaric would have contacted her if he was going off grid.

Elena was putting on her coat and shoes whilst balancing her phone to her ear with her shoulder. "I'll call Stefan and get him to pick me up. I'll meet you at The Grill and we'll start a search party. "

"I'll see you soon." Bonnie responded, hanging up quickly after. Elena sighed, she knew something was wrong when her car wouldn't start but what would a witch want with Caroline? She questioned. She hit a couple of button on her phone and it began to ring.

X

She woke up feeling more tired. Her eyes were sore and all she felt was confusion. Running her fingers through her hair, she tried to figure out what she should do next. She wanted to run but couldn't. She had nowhere to go and the only person she could remember was no longer in the room with her.

She slowly crept out of the sheets and began to wonder around the room. It was dim, a small bit of sunlight that slipped through a crack in between the curtains what the only light but she could still see every detail. The walls were all a dark solid wood and everything was either brown, black, dark blue or red. She ran her hands over a desk that looked like the most expensive thing she had ever seen. It had various books and pieces of paper spread out across the top. She flipped open the cover of a random notepad and came across a drawing. Her fingers stiffly traced the pencil woman's features and she knew it was her own face she was looking at. She touched the drawn likeness' lips then raised her hand to her own mouth. A door opening outside the room made her jump and snap the book closed.

She zipped as far away from the desk as fast as she could, wanting to avoid it like it was on fire. She now found herself by a great wooden wardrobe. Opening one of the stiff doors she saw an arrangement of shirts and jackets. Hand hers ran over the fabrics before she knew what she was doing. She paused at a white dress shirt. She gently lifted one of the long sleeves then traced the small white buttons that trailed along the front. It was so familiar. She carefully pulled it out of the cupboard and held it close to her body, hoping that it would help her remember but also finding it comforting to have something she vaguely recognised. She looked down at her own clothes, a pair of comfortable jeans, a wrinkled t-shirt, no socks. Her eyes caught something that sparkled and lifted her left arm up. A stunning silver bracelet with hundreds of diamonds rested around her wrist and a silver ring with a giant deep blue stone was snuggly on her index finger. She wasn't wearing a bracelet last night. She sighed, dropping her arm, she didn't remember either bits of jewellery.

She quickly pulled her t-shirt off and wrapped herself in the crisp white dress shirt, she found it oddly relaxing. She slowly did up the tiny buttons, not caring that it was too big and baggy for her.

The door to the room began to open as she finished the last button and began to roll up the sleeves. The man from before walked in, he was wearing dark grey jeans and a light grey v neck t-shirt with long sleeves. She swallowed nervously and felt her forehead wrinkle with apprehension. He had something in his hand by his side but the bed was now between them and she couldn't see what it was.

Klaus paused when he saw her, standing in his bedroom, wearing his shirt. He recognised it as the one he wore to his mother's ball, less than a week ago. He smirked, rather enjoying seeing her like this, nervous and wearing his clothes in his bedroom, her hair messy from sleeping in his bed overnight. It was different and refreshing, he just wished it was under other, more pleasurable circumstances.

"Morning, I'm sure you have a lot of questions to ask." She nodded, her eyes never straying from his. "How about we take a seat and get started then, shall we?" He motioned to the bed and she watched him walk over and sit on the edge, just like the previous night.

She followed his lead and sat on the opposite side, so there was still a bit of distance between them. She didn't want to be the one to start talking but he was sitting there perfectly silent, waiting for her to speak.

"Um, who are you?" Her voice was quiet and weak, she was ashamed that she couldn't even fake some kind of strength.

"I'm Klaus. Your name is Caroline." His voice was deep but soft, like velvet.

"I'm a vampire?" She didn't know why she asked, she knew it was true, like asking if she was a girl or had blonde hair.

"Yes." He smiled at her, it felt like he was almost proud on her behalf. She felt her nose wrinkle at the odd feeling she felt when he smiled at her, a handsome and strong smile that she found incredibly sexy but was also adorable because she soon discovered he had cheek dimples that appeared whenever he did it. It made her want to run her hands over his stubble and kiss him. She coughed lightly, trying to find focus.

"And you're British?"

Klaus laughed. "Yes, yes I suppose I am," He mulled that over, his forehead crinkled, producing lines to form across it. "I prefer English but that's just another way of saying the same thing."

"Okay." She felt like a child, asking such simple questions but she didn't know what else to do. She took a deep breath in and tried to regain some of her composure. "And you're a vampire. Is that how we know each other?"

His eyes went distant for a second but when they focused back on her she saw sadness, she wondered what was so bad about what she asked. "No, I'm a Hybrid. I'm both vampire and werewolf. When we first met I was just a vampire. We know each other because…" She watched as his mouth moved without opening, she imagined he had just run his tongue over his teeth or something. "We know some of the same people. We met through them."

Caroline took his words in and nodded. She looked away from his piercingly blue eyes, her own landing on her hands resting in her lap. For some reason that wasn't the answer she hoped for. She fiddled with the bracelet, trying to think of more questions.

"Oh!" She suddenly remembered some things from earlier. "Where did I get these?" She held her left arm out to show Klaus what she meant. His eyes landed on the objects and the smirk she remembered from before reappeared on his face.

Klaus reached over and captured her hand in his own. His skin was warm and she was surprised that it was quiet rough. "This ring," His thumb brushed over the blue stone. "Allows you to walk in daylight." Caroline nodded, that sounded reasonable, why else would she wear such an ugly chunky ring unless she had to, she thought bitterly. "As for the bracelet, it was a gift from me." His index finger tapped on the silver chain and she tilted her head to look up at him.

"Do you love me?" Her voice was breathy and she suddenly felt hot. Klaus' smile was beautiful and she loved how he was smiling at her. He was an incredibly sexy man to begin with, add that with him helping her when she desperately needed it, she could easily love him.

"We're not together. I'm not what you would consider a friend. We got off on the wrong foot, actually, it was my feet that were the problem but I'm certain you did not love me. It was just a gift, I was making a point when I got it for you." Caroline's eyebrows knitted together, she let go of his hand. If she wasn't with him, surely someone else was, after all who would let a gorgeous man like him stay single? She did not want to do or say anything she would regret and later have to explain to an angry girlfriend.

She suddenly felt flushed, remembering her blunder from last night. "Oh, so last night… I'm sorry about trying to…" She felt modified, she couldn't say it out loud. How stupid of her! Less than an hour together in total and she'd already said the wrong thing and tried to kiss him! For some reason it felt like a normal occurrence for her. "That was inappropriate."

"That's perfectly fine, love." At some point during their conversation they had moved closer together. "Call it an early birthday gift." Klaus' hand slowly rose up and brushed a curl behind her ear.

"This is so intense!" Caroline blurted out. Her hand went up to cover her mouth but it was too late. He laughed and she would have found it an amazing sound if she wasn't so embarrassed. "I mean, not knowing anything. "

"Don't worry, I'll help as best I can." They had a bit more space between them now and Caroline felt like she could now breathe normally.

"So… I thought I heard someone else here…" She stated, not really knowing what to say.

"Yes. That was my sister, Rebekah. She lives here with me." He informed her, she soon added 'The way he says 'Ka'' to her list of 'Sexy Klaus things'. She smiled to herself.

Then she considered his words. He was a vampire/hybrid and had family. "Oh." A wave of sadness washed over Caroline. "Do I have any family?"

"Yes. You live with your mother, and you have a very tightly knitted bunch of friends, you all look out for each other." Something sparkled behind Klaus' eyes but Caroline didn't notice. 'Where are they now then?' She wondered but didn't want to ask out loud. "I brought you some things to see if they'll help you remember anything." He told her, picking up the stuff he brought in earlier and lifting it onto the bed. "First off. Blood." He tossed a bag of blood that hospitals use, Caroline picked it up slowly and examined it. "You need your strength." Moving it from hand to hand, she read all the writing on it before raising it to eye level and looking at the deep red colour. "Go on, have at it." Caroline smiled and ripped open an edge before taking a big sip. Then a gulp. Before she knew it, half the bag was gone and she felt much better already. It was cold but refreshing and each swallow felt like she had found the most exquisite nectar. She wanted more but knew it was valuable and she shouldn't be greedy so tried to restrain herself. She moved the bag away from her lips, trying to saviour what she had already had before drinking any more. Licking her lips and wiping the corner of her mouth with her thumb, she popped it in her mouth and swished her tongue around, getting every last drop she could. She felt giddy and moaned in delight then focused her attention back to the other item on the bed.

Klaus on the other hand was far more interested in the little blonde vampire who had just displayed the sexiest and most stimulating thing he had seen in years, all the while she was completely oblivious to how sexy seductive she was being and the effect she was having on him. Klaus' jeans suddenly felt too tight so he grabbed a pillow and slowly placed it on his lap, leaning forward, he hoped it looked like a normal and natural thing to do so he was more comfortable and not an attempt to hide behind something.

Caroline was fascinating to him. He could have just watched her all day, ask questions, looking curiously and poking at things and drinking blood but he knew he had to speak up. "Better?"

"The best." She smiled brightly and he was glad to see it. It was a genuine smile, not like the ones she was throwing at him the other night outside The Grill. "Right what's next in "Wheel Of Caroline?"" Klaus only raised an eyebrow in response. "You know, fill in the blanks to make a word. Do you watch TV, like ever?" She rolled her eyes and it was almost like he was talking to the normal Caroline.

"Do you remember TV?" Caroline paused at the question. Did she?

"No… I don't know how I knew that…" She was confused and Klaus knew that led to her getting upset, something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

"That's fine, love. Let's see if you can recognise any of this stuff. It's your handbag." He watched as Caroline frowned down at the bag. She was studying the outside first, looking at its colour, a silvery grey. It had a scoop like strap with metal studs in random places and there was a latch that flipped over the main compartment with smaller pockets on each side. It combined practicality with style. It screamed Caroline but she just didn't know it.

"Well, I obviously have fashion sense." She muttered. She began to open the bag, pulling it closer to her, for some odd reasons she didn't mind Klaus seeing her vulnerable but she didn't really want him seeing everything in her handbag, even if she couldn't remember it. She opened the first pocket and pulled out some DVD's which were on the top. 'These are all cheesy, chick flicks.' She noted mentally. She placed them on the bed before continuing. Caroline reached in and grabbed a purse, opening it she examined her driver's licence and cards. 'Forbes. Caroline Forbes.' It would take some getting used to but she could imagine that being her name. She obviously liked shopping with all the store loyalty cards and receipts that were stuffed in there. She pulled out a tiny picture and held it up close to her face. There were three girls standing in the photo, smiling at the camera. She recognised herself but there were two other girls standing on either side of her, a tanned girl with long straight dark brown hair and equally dark brown eyes and a coco skinned girl with beautiful green eyes. Caroline flipped it over hoping there would be a notation of the back but found none. She put the picture in her lap, keeping it to ask questions later, then moved on.

She pulled out various other things she would have expected in a teenaged girls bag, including make-up, hair brush, keys, some mints, some sunglasses, a notepad without anything written in it. Two earrings lost at the bottom that didn't match but their counterparts couldn't be found which made Caroline smile, she was either an absent-minded or careless person then. After everything had been emptied from the main compartment she moved onto the next smaller two, one was completely void except a little paper desiccant that absorbed moisture. She was hoping to find a phone or diary, anything with personal details in that could explain what happened to her. She opened the last pocket and found a rolled up piece of paper. Disappointed there was no phone, she began to unravel it, it was a drawing, like the ones she saw earlier. It was her standing next to a horse, her hair was half up and she was wearing a formal wrap around her shoulders. She read the handwritten words and looked up at Klaus, her mouth slightly open. "What did I say to you?" She asked. For the first time that Caroline had known Klaus, even though she could count the hours with one finger, he looked uncomfortable. He clearly knew what she was talking about but didn't speak. "This looks very romantic. Drawings, notes, I carry it around with me all the time. It must mean something." She muttered, mostly to herself then thrust the drawing towards him. Klaus reluctantly looked down at the paper, he knew every detail on it but didn't make any movement to touch it.

"I didn't know you kept it." He answered, his voice was quiet and soft but she heard him.

"What does it mean? Honesty?" Caroline stood up now. She didn't know why she was feeling so flustered and demanding about this but she felt like he'd lied to her. There was undoubtedly something going on between the two of them. "Do I usually lie to you?" She asked, shocked that she could be cruel like that.

"No." Klaus replied. "Being a hybrid, people tell me what I want to hear out of fear. You don't. I mean, you didn't. You told it how it was and truth be told, you were the only person I let talk to me that way."

A logical part of Caroline's mind was telling her that she should be scared of him, that if others were afraid then it was only right she should be as well. But she didn't back away, this didn't make her want to avoid him, in fact it made her want to get to know him more. "Alright." She moved back over to the bed and sat down smoothly on the edge. "So we've established that I like shopping, often lose odd earrings, I love girly films and overreact a lot. And we've figured out that you are a great artist but a complete ass." They both laughed and suddenly the room was filled with less tension.

"Now that sounds like the Caroline I know." Klaus said, pointing a finger at her light-heartedly.

Caroline smiled shyly. "Thank you." She didn't feel any different but maybe looking through her stuff had really helped. She picked up the blood she had only half finished and began to sip some more as she continued to ask questions. "Are these the friends you were talking about?"

"Yes." Klaus said, pointing at each girl, explaining who they were. "That's Bonnie, she's a very powerful witch and that's Elena. You're all very close, like sisters. You've been through a lot together."

Caroline scoffed. "Then why aren't they here?"

"Give them a break, sweetheart. They didn't know where you were." Klaus words made Caroline suspicious. He was avoiding her gaze and suddenly looked angrier, but she didn't know who with.

"What do you mean "didn't"?" Caroline demanded.

"I called them. They are on their way now to take you home." Klaus replied.

X

Thank you.

Once again, the response to my story has been amazing! I'd like to take time and thank everyone who reviewed as they really do mean a lot and motivate me to write more than I usually would!

Betseyjill (Thank you for both reviews!), DGfleetfox (You'll have to wait and see but there will certainly be a few bumps on the road!). And a huge thanks to MysteryDream3, Carolannw5, loonynerxd9, Danielleee and YouCan'tFightDestiny I'm glad you're all enjoying the story and I'm excited everyone is loving the idea of Caroline losing her memory, I know it's been done before but I felt it was perfect for these two characters.

Finally, two very big shouts outs.

One for Original Hybrid, thanks again for your kind words, it's nice to have another Brit around here! I love your short story, I think Klaus is such an interesting and complex character, I love how his mind works and it's nice to see someone else does too!

And lastly, thank you Priyapur for your comments and I hope this update doesn't let you down.

Enjoy and please review to tell me what you think.

Charlie


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